With Low cost and often FREE viral communications continually grabbing our attention – Why aren’t more SMEs taking advantage of these techniques to promote themselves, their products and their businesses?

In all viral communications there are certain things that a person or company has to keep in mind.

Behind every campaign there must be a gain or incentive for the viewer / recipient – why should they pass your message on?

Even though a material incentive can be effective, the most successful viral campaigns can be the ones that are created with emotion being involved. People touched by compassion, laughter, or shock are usually the most effective. If your viewer can have some type of profound experience, this can spark huge success.

Importantly, remember why you are doing it! You must always consider your brand and target market. Just because it’s funny and guaranteed to be a successful viral campaign, it does not mean it’s right for your business.

We don’t have to look very far to find campaigns of this type online. With the advent of video being used so much in marketing these days, it has completely impacted the way in which viral campaigns are developing.

So what’s in it for you?

• Cost effective
• Expands your exposure rapidly
• Builds your brand
• Increases targeted traffic
• Easy to integrate with other marketing methods
• An automated marketing method – set it up once and forget about it
• Easy to implement

It’s a very cheap (often FREE) and an easy method of making a BIG statement to your target market. If you are successful, your creation will be increasingly spread – either by simply sending a link or forwarding an email, creation of a potential customer database, to positive word of mouth. It could even be successful enough to promoting you, your product or service on television programs such as RudeTube (UK) – all for FREE!

This growing market already has us all hooked. In a period where many businesses are struggling to get the attention of their customers – why aren’t SMEs following in the footprints of many young entrepreneurs and large corporate companies?

With this in mind, Inspiro Creative Communications have set up “The Creative Pages”. The Creative Pages is a growing collection of viral communications to inspire you to take advantage of this growing method of communicating with your target market (updated most Fridays). It is a collection of creative and inspirational ways other people and companies have been successfully promoting themselves or something.

The Creative Pages website is www.inspirocreative.com/creative-pages/

June 22nd 2011 by Inspiro Creative Communications

It is hard not to agree with the following quote: “Sending sloppy junk to people is really a form of personal insult. It says you don’t care”. (Drayton Bird)

When you consider preparing a customer campaign, brochure or online material – what is it you think of first? Do you think about what you’re trying to sell and how it might look in terms of the graphics? Or do you consider what needs to be communicated? In most cases there’s a tendency towards ‘how it looks’ rather than ‘how it fits’ the goals of the customer. The advertising industry being geared to awards ceremonies for style instead of presenting clear evidence that the glossy material worked!

The critical component of any good customer campaign is how it gets inside the customer’s head. and how it turns interest into buying (or action) behaviour. Large companies create a broad spread of media coverage, but small businesses operate smaller budgets and have to get much more ‘bang for the buck’. When you spend your hard cash it is important that you have confidence that you’ll get a positive return.

So… make sure that you focus on the customer rather than focus on your products.

Here are 3 simple tips to help:

1. Think about your customer
Every customer, without exception, wants something that will help improve, change or meet the challenges they are currently facing in their business or personally. By taking the time to think about and ask questions about what they are currently looking to do you create a greater understanding of how your business services / products will make their lives better, more cost efficient and effective.

2. It’s all about FAB not just the F
F stands for features… Your services / products may be amazing, but your message must establish the Advantages and Benefits that consumers will get for their money. For example:

Feature: A neoprene protective cover for my netbook.
Advantage: Protects my netbook from damage.
Benefit: Less risk of losing my work – such as this article. The netbook looks newer for longer and I can pack it with other files in my bag with less bother.

3. Putting it together
So you know what customers really want and you understand your FAB’s. The next step is to cross reference the two lists, which FAB’s tie in to each challenge? By doing this you now have the ability to create campaigns and marketing collateral that speak directly to your customer. Your call to action will become more compelling.

It may sound easy and effectively it is. At the end of the day your customer is still a person and people still fundamentally buy things from other people. Your customers just need to know and feel that you understand what they’re about and why they might need what you’re offering. So review your marketing materials, your web site and the way you present your ‘shop window’. It’s worth the investment of your time.

April 8th, 2011 by Inspiro Creative Communications